As is known, microfluidic devices may be exploited in a number of applications, and are particularly suited to be used as chemical microreactors. Thanks to the design flexibility allowed by semiconductor micromachining techniques, single integrated devices have been made that are capable of carrying out individual processing steps or even an entire chemical process.
In general, microfluidic chemical microreactors are provided with a microfluidic circuit, comprising a plurality of processing chambers in mutual fluidic connection through microchannels. In the most advanced microfluidic devices the microchannels are buried in a substrate and/or in an epitaxial layer of a semiconductor chip.
Substances to be processed, which are dispersed in a fluid medium, are supplied to one or more inlet reservoirs of the microfluidic circuit and are moved therethrough. Chemical reactions take place along the microfluidic circuit, either in the processing chambers or in the microchannels.
For example, microfluidic devices are widely employed in biochemical processes, such as nucleic acid analysis. Such microreactors may also be called “Labs-On-Chip.” In general, the microfluidic device may comprise one or more mixing chambers, heating chambers, dielectrophoretic cells, micropumps, amplification chambers, detection chambers, capillary electrophoresis channels, and the like. Heaters, sensors, controls, and the like may also be incorporated into the device.
Some reactions, however, are lengthy and their efficiency and speed depend on several factors, such as the likelihood of interaction between the substances involved. In particular, the likelihood of interaction is greatly affected by the concentration of the reagents.
For example, DNA amplification involves a series of enzyme-mediated reactions whose final result are identical copies of the target nucleic acid. In particular, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is a cyclical process where the number of DNA molecules substantially doubles at every iteration, starting from a mixture comprising target DNA, enzymes (typically a DNA polymerase such as TAQ), primers, the four dNTPs, cofactor, and buffer.
During a cycle, double stranded DNA is first separated into single strands (denatured). Then the primers hybridize to their complementary sequences on either side of the target sequence. Finally, DNA polymerase extends each primer, by adding nucleotides that are complementary to the target strand. This doubles the DNA content and the cycle is repeated until sufficient DNA has been synthesized.
Although PCR allows the production of millions of copies of target sequences in few hours, in many cases its efficiency and speed might be improved by increasing the concentration of the reagents. Similarly, end-point detection of amplified DNA (amplicons) by hybridization is highly concentration dependent.
However, in known microfluidic devices the reagents are merely supplied and moved through the microfluidic circuit (e.g. by a micropump coupled thereto). Thus, the reagents tend to be uniformly distributed and the concentration is exclusively determined by their amount and by the geometry of the microfluidic circuit.
The aim of the present invention is to provide a microfluidic device and a method for increasing the concentration of electrically charged substances in a microfluidic device, which overcome the above-described problem and, in particular, improve reaction efficiency by locally increasing reagent concentration.